Electric switch.



G. LOEFFLER.

ELECTRIG SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED 1.11111. 1, 1907.

Patented July 25, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ATTORNEYy C. LOEFFLEIL ELECTRIC SWITCH. APPLoATIoN FILED 1111111.11107.

998,786. Patented July 25, 1911.

2 SEEETH-BHEBT 2.

3. 51N] i y L L wlTNEssEs: y

CHARLES LOEFFLER, OF UTICAI, NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

To all whom it may :concern: Be it known that l, CHARLES LOEFFLER,

a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resi.

dent of the city of Utica, in the county of `Oneida and State of New York, United ,States of America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric l Switches, of Which the following is a speciieation.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in electric switches and consists in the novel construct-ion and arrangel ment of parts herein shown and described,

the noi/"el features of which are pointed out invclanns.

.Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is `a front elevationy of a switch made according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the switch shown in Fig. l, the section being taken 'through the line 2- 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the switch shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation of a portion of a double-throw switch. made according to my invention. Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation of a portion of one of my switches in this ease made according to a inediti/ed form of construction. Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view of some of the parts shown in Fig. 5, the section being taken through line 6 6 of Fig.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the lignres.

10 designates the front panel of a switchboard which is usually constructed or'lniara` ble, slate or other suitable non-conductpig material.

l1, 11 designate supporting` plates for the Various stationary electric conductors and contacts which Will be pointed out hereinafter. These plates are also constructed ol' non-conducting material preferably ot slate. ing plates may be held together by-` means of a framework which may be built up, as shown, of a plurality oi' angle-irons l2, 12 to which vthe panels and plates are attached, and a plurality of horizontal bars l-Lf, 13 securely attached to the vertical angle-irons by means of-bolts or rivets. The lower ends of the Vertical irons 12 may be secured to a floor or foundation 14 if desired and the space between the lower -edge of the front panel and this floor filled with ornamental grille-Work 15.

The parts thus'l far described form no Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 1, 1907.

The front panel and these support Patented July 25, 1911'.'

Serial No. 360,064.

part of my invention but simply serve as a supporting frame for the various parts of my improved switch and operating mecha nism which I will now proceed to describe.

20 designates a manually operated lever which is pivoted at 21 in a bracket 22, which bracket is rigidly attached to a plate 23 upon the front panel 10. This lever is constructed to form a short arm 24, the back portion of which may be provided with or shaped to ferm a stop-piece 25 which limits the upward movement of the lever 20 by striking against the plate 23. This arm 24 of lever 20 is connected. by a link 26 with a bell-crank 27. One end of this link 26 is pivoted at 24A in the short arm 24 of the operating lever and the other end of the link is pivoted at 27A in one endofthe bellrod and links 32 which are pivoted to' the ends of the rods 30 by means of pins 3l,

While I have described the operating lever, the bell-crank and the connectinglinks as single pieces these are, for the sake of cheapncss of manufacture, preferably constructed of sheet metal stamped into the required forms made in duplicate and connected together in parallel according to the construction illustrated clearly in `Fgs. 1 and 34, 34 designate metallic bushing which are arranged'to pass through the front panel 10 and to be securelylocked thereto by means of nuts 35,35. These bushingsservethe purpose of supporting and guidingthereeiproeating-rods BO, 30 and their connected parts and form the only support for these reciprocating rods. ln constructing `this .device I prefer to thread all of that portion of the reciproeating-r xls 30 except that which passes through the bushings 34 and the end to which the link 32 is connected.

410, 40 designate yokes of insulating inaterial switch, for example, as hard rubber or fiber, which are placed upon the reciprocating rods 30, 30 and Whicl'l are securely held thereto in desired positions by means of nuts 41, 41. v

42, 42 designate contact brushes which may be built up as shown of an outer piece 43 of some thickness which is bent into the desired form and an inner pieee44of similar main line conductors which are rigidly attached-to the supporting plates 11, 11.

17 17 designate stationary contacts which are also attached to the supporting plates 11; 11. Above these Contact plates 17 are terminal plates 18 which are connected to the stationary contacts 17 by mea-ns of fuses' 1,9.

18A, 18A designate conductors which may be connected with the stationary .contacts 17 through the .terminal plates 18 and the fuses 19.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the switch is shown in its closed position. It may be seen in these figures that the contact brushes 42 have been pushed up against the'bus-bars 16 and the stationary contacts 17 in such a manner as to electrically connect each one of these busbars with one of the stationary contacts 17. These Contact brushes may be adjusted by means of thenuts 41 upon the reciprocatingrods to cause the brushes to be brought against the stationary-bus-bars and contacts under considerable pressure in order to insureperfect contact between the brushes and the stationary parts. The peculiar arrangement of parts which are shown in front of the panel 10 will insure these parts being held securely in position. These cause the short arm 24 of the voperating lever 20 and' Vthe link 26 which connects this-short arm wit-li the link 27 to form a toggle Awhichis arranged lto cause the connecting pivot 24A to be moved past the center line between the pivot 21 and the pivot 27A.- The stop 25 coming in contact with the plate 23 will arrest theY movement of these parts when they have reached the properA position. To open the switch it is necessaryto depress the operating lever 20 until it reaches the'position designated by dotted lines at 20A in Fig. 2. The bell-crank lever will thereby be moved until it assumes the position designated by dotted lines in which case it will have thrust the reciprocating-rods 30, 3() inward and vcaused the brushes 4210 be moved away from the stationary' contacts with' which they are arranged to coact.

Springs 36, 3G may be provided between the locking nuts 85, and the nuts 111, al which hold the first insulating yoke L10 onto the rcciprocatiiig-rods 30, 30. Vhen these springs are added they assist in the operation of opening the switch and add vmaterially to its action. n

It may be seen that by a peculiar arrange.- ment of parts above described the action of opening the switch by depressing the operati ing lever 20 may be a quick one so far as the 'manner already described and a similar reciprocating-rod 30B is also connected to the i operating handle 20B by a similar mechamsm. In this case, however7 one of these reciprocating-rods and its connected parts are arranged to be moved into their' closed position when the other reciprocating-rod and its connected parts are moved into their open position. l

In the modication illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown a knife-switch 50 mounted upon one of theinsulating yokes 40 and arranged to be, moved between and into contact with two pairs of metallic clips 51 and 52 whenever the reciprocating-rod 80 is moved forward toward the front panel 10 and to be moved back out of contact with these metallic clips whenever thereciprocatv A switch made according to my inventionmay be constructed at a great saving both of time and material.. The operating mechanism is simple in construction and eiicient in operation. Nearly all of 'the moving parts are placed upon the face of the front panel 10 where they are easily accessible. It may be seen that the current for feeders is taken direct-ly from the bus-bars thus avoiding further connections :and leads to the front of the board. A switch made according to this construction. has therefore but little resistance. As the operating mechanism is entirely upon the front face of the board this form of construction is particularly applicable for use in conjunction with circuit breakers having an automatic release, or arranged to be released from some distance from the board.

The manipulation of 'a switch made acfront panel 10 is connected with the electrical circuits. The fact that all live wires and y connections are behind the front panel 10 lmakes it even possible to construct this panel of wood or of iron, or of any-'other desired material, and it is not necessary that such "material should be a non-'conductor of electricity.

I have illustrated several forms of my invent-ion to show that it is not confined to any -specific construction.` I

The brushes 42 and 50 are of well known design and construction. vOf course, other Vforms of brushes may be used if desired.

What I claim isl. In an electric switch, a bus-bar and a stationary contact, a frame supporting said bus-bar and contact, means for insulating the bus-bar and stationary contact from said frame, a panel aiiixed to the frame in front of the bus-bar and stationary Contact, a pair of reciprocatory rods passing through the panel and between the bus-bar and said contact and supported only by the panel, a yoke of insulating material connecting said rods, means for adjusting the position of said yoke on the rods, a movable contact mounted upon the forward face of said yoke and arranged to be moved thereby directly against the bus bar and the stationary contact, va toggle actuating mechanism mounted upon the front of the panel, and a mechanical connection between said toggle mechanism and the reciprocatory rods.

2. In an electric switch, a plurality of bus- .bars, a plurality of stationary contacts, a frame supportin said bus-bars and contacts,.means for insulating the bus-bars and the stationary contacts from said frame, a panel ailiXed to the frame in front of the,

bus-bars and the stationary contacts, a pair of independent metallic bushings passing through said panel and affixed thereto, a pair of horizontal reciprocatory rods passing through the panel and between the bus-bars and the stationary contacts, said rods being guided and supported only by said busliings in the panel, a plurality of yokes of insulating material connecting said rods, means for adjusting the positions of `said yokes upon the rods, a movable contact mounted upon 'the forward face of each of said yokes, each of said movable contacts being arranged to be moved directly against one of said bus-bars and one of the stationf ary contacts, a hand lever, and intermediate toggle mechanism connecting the hand lever and the reciprocatory rods, said hand lever and toggle mechanism being mounted upon the front of the panel and su ported thereby.

In testimony whereof I liave signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES -LOEFFLER Witnesses:

W. C. CAHILL, F. F. MURPHY. 

